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Topic: Tilt/Shift vs UWA for Landscape DOF (Read 722 times)

I'm thinking seriously about a TS-E 17 or TS-E24II to use with a 7DII for landscape/seascape to maximize DOF. So far I've been disappointed with results using EFS10-22, 35L, or 24-105L stopped down to get sharp foreground and background. In the case of the 35L I actually wondered if it was just my copy or the nature of the lens; great sharpness for close pictures, not so great at infinity. I've since sold it.

I've done a lot of looking, but all examples I've found of side by sides to compare tilting with standard lens are always using a large aperture. Does anyone have good examples of a lens stopped down vs a tilted lens for sharpness front to back?

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For example, this picture was taken with a 7D and EFS10-22 @10mm, F/16, 1/125 sec, no filters. Cropped just slightly to get the file size under 5MB. I had no tripod, but my elbows were on the ground. This picture is early in my DSLR days, JPEG only, no affective post, but zooming in, the sailboat is nowhere near as sharp as the beach in the foreground. Would a TS-E 17 tilted sharpened up the boat, or am I asking too much?

Yes the TS-E tilted would sharpen up the boat, actually it would sharpen up the entire picture.

If you set 4º or so of tilt and f5.6 or f8 you would have much less diffraction and everything in the image would be pin sharp.

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Too often we lose sight of the fact that photography is about capturing light, if we have the ability to take control of that light then we grow exponentially as photographers. More often than not the image is not about lens speed, sensor size, MP's or AF, it is about the light.

Yes the TS-E tilted would sharpen up the boat, actually it would sharpen up the entire picture.

If you set 4º or so of tilt and f5.6 or f8 you would have much less diffraction and everything in the image would be pin sharp.

That's a lot of tilt. Typically for shooting at eye level I'm using .5-1 degree of tilt. With regard to this specific image it looks like the initial focus was way too close as well. I'll often use infinity or hyperfocal focusing and use tilt to draw the in-focus areas closer.

Yes the TS-E tilted would sharpen up the boat, actually it would sharpen up the entire picture.

If you set 4º or so of tilt and f5.6 or f8 you would have much less diffraction and everything in the image would be pin sharp.

That's a lot of tilt. Typically for shooting at eye level I'm using .5-1 degree of tilt. With regard to this specific image it looks like the initial focus was way too close as well. I'll often use infinity or hyperfocal focusing and use tilt to draw the in-focus areas closer.

YMMV, but that's how I do it

The OP said his "elbows were on the ground" this would put the camera 10"-12" (approx) from the plane of focus. As per tilt tables a 17mm at 10" from the J point needs 3.9º of tilt.

I would focus at infinity, actually the hills, not past them as can be done with the TS-E's (and many other Canon lenses), and then tilt to the foreground, it will be close to 4º.

I agree, at average standing eye level .5º of tilt is all that is needed to put the plane of focus on the ground.

Too often we lose sight of the fact that photography is about capturing light, if we have the ability to take control of that light then we grow exponentially as photographers. More often than not the image is not about lens speed, sensor size, MP's or AF, it is about the light.

Yes the TS-E tilted would sharpen up the boat, actually it would sharpen up the entire picture.

If you set 4º or so of tilt and f5.6 or f8 you would have much less diffraction and everything in the image would be pin sharp.

That's a lot of tilt. Typically for shooting at eye level I'm using .5-1 degree of tilt. With regard to this specific image it looks like the initial focus was way too close as well. I'll often use infinity or hyperfocal focusing and use tilt to draw the in-focus areas closer.

YMMV, but that's how I do it

The OP said his "elbows were on the ground" this would put the camera 10"-12" (approx) from the plane of focus. As per tilt tables a 17mm at 10" from the J point needs 3.9º of tilt.

I would focus at infinity, actually the hills, not past them as can be done with the TS-E's (and many other Canon lenses), and then tilt to the foreground, it will be close to 4º.

I agree, at average standing eye level .5º of tilt is all that is needed to put the plane of focus on the ground.

Thanks for the input. For this picture I probably did focus too close, I'll dig through the hard drive to find it and see where focus was. I have other samples where I was using 40mm and didn't really get anything sharp except a shore line about 1000m away. Faces in the foreground were shadowed mind you, but softer than they could have been. I do think I'd enjoy the challenge of tilt/shift, but want my expectations realistic. last thing I want is to be disappointed given the cost.